KUALA LUMPUR: Former Umno supreme council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam has denied that he failed to file his statement of defence against a lawsuit filed by the Chief Syariah Court Judge of Malaysia Datuk Setia Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar.
Lokman said the statement was filed in the courts on Feb 11 and his lawyer had also handed over a copy to the plaintiff's lawyer on the same day.
He added that news reports that he had failed to file the statement of defence were therefore incorrect.
"No judgment in default can be recorded against me because I have already filed the statement of defence in court and also handed a copy to the plaintiff's lawyer.
"I do not wish to make further comments on this as the case is still ongoing. I will leave it to my lawyer to manage this," he said.
It was earlier reported that Na'im, 54, had demanded RM30 million through a judgment in default from Lokman over alleged slanderous statements which the latter had posted.
The application for a judgment in default was filed by Na'im through Messrs Akberdin & Co at the High Court registry here yesterday after Lokman allegedly failed to file his defence against the lawsuit filed by the judge.
Na'im is seeking RM10 million each for exemplary, aggravated and punitive damages with five per cent interest to be included until the judgment sum is paid.
A default judgment occurs when the defendant in a legal case fails to respond to a court summons or does not appear in court.
When this occurs, a court may rule in favour of the plaintiff by default.
Na'im had filed the suit against Lokman after the Umno politician implicated him in a sexual harassment case, including one where he was said to be lying nude in a bedroom of a woman's home.
In his suit, which was filed on Jan 19, Na'im claimed Lokman had defamed him by making the slanderous statements during two Facebook live posts between Jan 10 and Jan 13.
Na'im, who is also Syariah Judiciary Department director-general, claimed that Lokman also uploaded the live broadcast on his YouTube account on Jan 10 and 14, respectively.
He claimed the posting depicted him as not being a credible leader to set a good example to the community and that the posting had tarnished the Syariah Judiciary Department's image and institution. - NST
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